Chocolate hazelnut cinnamon twist

Carbs, chocolate AND sugar all wrapped up in a sugary cinnamony (that's totally a word) crust and twisted together with toasted hazelnuts? This, my foodie friends, is surely what heaven tastes like. And smells like, because the aromas that waft from your oven will certainly make you friends! This bread smelled so good, I fanned myself with the oven in the hopes that the spicy chocolatey-ness would cling to me and act as a delicious perfume. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.  

But back to the bread. It's super easy and versatile. If you want to swop out the Nutella (why on earth would you want to do that?!) then you could spread the dough with thick custard or stick to the simple cinnamon sugar. Go nuts with the nuts and use almonds, pecans, walnuts - whatever your heart desires. And don't be fooled by those intricate-looking twists - this bread is dead easy to make. Almost as easy as eating it!

Chocolate hazelnut twist 

Serves 8-10

3 cups cake flour

1 tsp salt

¼ cup sugar

60g butter or margarine, softened

10 g instant yeast

1 large egg, beaten

½ cup lukewarm water

1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (ie. Nutella)

3 tbsp sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

50g hazelnuts, skinned and toasted

1 cup icing sugar, sifted

30-45ml espresso or strong coffee

Preheat the oven to 180C. Combine the flour, salt and sugar then rub in the butter to form rough breadcrumb texture. Add the yeast and mix well. Add the beaten egg and just enough water to form a soft dough. Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes or with an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle about about 1/2cm thick. Spread a thin layer of chocolate spread over the dough and leave a 1cm border around the edges.Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the chocolate along with the toasted hazelnuts, pressing the nuts into the dough. Beginning at the longest side of the rectangle, roll the dough into a long cylinder. Cut the cylinder in half lengthwise down the middle and open it up to expose the layers. Twist the two pieces around each other to create a plait. Form into a ring on a lined baking sheet, folding the ends under each other. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until golden brown and when tapped the bread makes a hollow sound. Mix the icing sugar and coffee together to form a smooth drizzling consistency then dribble the icing over the slightly cooled wreath and serve.

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Blueberry (cheesecake) muffins

They say muffins are just cupcakes without make-up on and if that's the case then my blueberry cheesecake version doesn't technically classify as a muffin... But muffins are a perfectly acceptable breakfast item which means you can safely get away with tucking into these before 11am without a guilty conscience. And the blueberries? Well, they're a superfood I'll have you know!

The muffins in question are made using a recipe by Stork Bake margarine and the fab people from their I love Baking SA page asked me to give it a test drive. I, of course, had to put my own decadent spin on it - you know, just to show how versatile it is. So of course, extra sugar and cream cheese were involved. The original recipe however is perfect for a kid-friendly lunchbox snack (considering we're still in the back-to-school swing of things). But smear the leftovers with creamy frosting and you have a moms-only version perfect for tea time!

The Lunchbox Blueberry Muffin 

(that is, if there are still some left for lunchboxes and they haven't all been eaten still hot out the oven!)

This recipe is so dead easy, you need to be seriously skilled to make a flop of it, but just incase I've added a few of my own baking notes and comments in to help.

Blueberry Muffins

Serves 8 (I got 18 regular-sized muffins from my batch)

125g fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen as they tend to have a better texture once baked. I also tossed the blueberries with a little flour to stop them all sinking to the bottom of the muffin) 
120g Stork Bake margarine (the recipe doesn't specify so I melted the Stork Bake) 
275g plain flour 
250ml skimmed milk 
100g sugar 
1 egg 
2 tsp vanilla essence 
1 tbsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 200°C and place paper cases into a muffin tin. 

In a first bowl, mix the egg with the Stork Bake margarine, sugar and vanilla essence. In another bowl, mix the flour with the milk and the baking powder. Add the egg/margarine mixture in the flour mixture and stir in well. (I used the standard method of making muffins and combined all my dry ingredients together then all my wet ingredients and added the wet to the dry, mixing until the batter was just combined.Careful not to overstir or you'll get tough muffins. Nobody likes a tough muffin.)

Finally stir in the blueberries and pour the preparation in the prepared muffin tin. Bake the muffins for around 25 minutes or until the tops are springy to the touch.

Blueberry cheesecake muffins

(ie. blueberry muffins with make-up on)

The pimped-up version of the lunchbox muffin with a gooey blueberry centre and cream cheese frosting. Yum.

Blueberry cheesecake muffins

Makes 18

1 batch blueberry muffin batter (follow recipe above to just before the blueberries are added)

125g frozen blueberries

1/4 cup blueberry jam

Cheesecake frosting

100g Stork Bake margarine, softened

400g icing sugar

250g smooth full fat cream cheese

zest and juice of 1 small lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

Extra blueberries, to garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200°C and place paper cases into a muffin tin. Pour the plain muffin batter in the prepared muffin tin, filling the cups halfway. Combine the blueberries with the blueberry jam then drop a small spoonful of blueberry mixture in the middle of each muffin before adding in the remaining batter. Only fill the cases ¾ full. Bake the muffins for around 25 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch. To make the frosting, cream the Stork and icing sugar until light and fluffy then beat in the cream cheese, zest, juice and extract. Frost the muffins with the icing and decorate with the fresh blueberries. 

Remember to hop on over to Facebook and like my page for recipes and sweet stuff. I also tweet about some cool things every now and then and Instagram my bakes (if I remember to snap them before I devour them!) 

Gingerbeer and naartjie slush

Hello summer holidays! I don't have to tell you what that means do I? Well, I will anyway. 

It means beach days and sunburn and sand stuck on your toes all day and  the smell of a braai being lit somewhere and warm sunshine on your face and salty skin and lazing by the pool and soft serve ice cream dripping on your fingers and balmy evenings and... We really do live in the best country don't we? 

Before I get all excited about the beautiful summer holiday we'll be having, I'm actually off to freezing Italy (yes, pity me please!). I've been so looking forward to being snowed on for the first time and eating chestnuts roasted on the fire, and consuming my bodyweight in pasta... Until of course it came to posting this recipe - the last one for 2013. It's just so summery and quite South African with it's naartjie and gingerbeer flavours (hope you didn't miss the Peppermint crisp tart milkshake a while back!). While I sip on this icy slush and ponder just how cold -2 degrees is, it will come as a welcome thirst quencher for the gloriously hot summer ahead. 

The gingerbeer and naartjie slush is so deliciously simple with just the right amount of tang, ginger kick and icy refreshment. It's the perfect drink to serve on a steamy day at a braai with friends or simply to sip on poolside. I've used my Zoku Slush & Shake maker again (everyone should have one of these this summer) to get it all icy and slushy, and okay, I'll be honest, I added a good glug of gin to mine - absolutely scrummy! 

Happy summer holidays - and soak up some sunshine for me will you? Cheers!

Ginger beer and naartjie slush

Serves 2 (if you're feeling generous enough to share)

1 ½ cups freshly squeezed naartjie juice, chilled

1 cup gingerbeer, chilled

Juice from ½ lime

Combine the naartjie juice, gingerbeer and lime and pour into the Zoku Slush & Shake maker. Stir every 60 seconds until thick. 

TIP: A shot of tequila or brandy poured in at the end, makes for a great cocktail!

*This post has been sponsored by the awesome people at Zoku who make an array of gadgets to whip up icy delights! Visit their website here or like the Facebook page for more yummy recipes. You can find the Slush & Shake makers at Boardmans, @Home and CNA stores or at my personal favourite, Yuppiechef.com

Chocorons & Christmas mince pie macarons

A few weeks ago my pastry chef/chocolatier extraordinaire of a boyfriend came home one day waxing lyrical about the World Chocolate Championships and how an entrant had included chocorons in his breathtaking sculpture. He said (in his thick Sicilian accent), 'just watch, chocorons are going to be the next cronut'. Ja, ja, I said and carried on paging through my Donna Hay. Well, I'm eating humble pie now as the chocoron explosion has hit the streets of Paris. Apparently invented by Japanese pastry guru Sadaharu Aoki (although boyfriend claims he dipped macarons way before this), the chocoron is a macaron coated in a thick layer of chocolate. Just pure genius.

Hybrid pastries seem to be gaining more and more momentum and with the inspiration of the chocoron fresh in my mind, I set out to create my own, and so, I give to you, the Christmas mince pie chocoron. 

These little babies taste exactly like mince pies and are just so festive. Cover a few in chocolate, pop them in a box and you have an uber trendy gift (but only keep the chocolate covered beauties for those who were good this year!). 

Mince pie chocorons

Makes 20

120g sifted finely ground almonds

200g sifted icing sugar

1 tsp ground mixed spice

100g egg whites (from about 3 eggs), at room temperature

35g castor sugar

¼ tsp cream of tartar

60g butter, softened

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

¼ cup Amarula

Christmas fruit mince, to taste

Good-quality dark chocolate, for dipping

Line 2-3 baking sheets with silicone baking sheets. Sift together the ground almonds, icing sugar and mixed spice. Begin beating the egg whites and cream of tartar on low speed. Once the egg whites are at soft peak stage, begin sprinkling in the sugar as you beat. Increase the speed to medium, if necessary, and beat the meringue to stiff glossy peaks. Add about 1/4 of the almond/sugar mixture and fold until no streaks remain. Continue to add the almond mixture in quarters, folding until incorporated. Pour the batter into a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle and pipe rows of batter onto the baking sheets in even sizes, giving them space to spread. Tap the pan on the counter to bring up any air bubbles and quickly pop them with a toothpick if necessary. Allow the cookies to rest on a level surface for 30-60 minutes until they are no longer tacky to the touch.  While they rest, place an oven rack in the lower 3rd of your oven and preheat to 130C (fan-forced) or 150C (no fan).  Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes. Allow to cool. 

Make the buttercream by creaming the butter until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and Amarula and whip until combined and a light consistency. Stir in enough fruit mince to your taste and place the icing in a piping bag. Assemble the macaroons by piping a blob of icing onto one macaroon and sandwiching with the other.  Once set, dip the macarons into chocolate using a fork, allow the chocolate to drip off before placing on a lined baking sheet to set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a day before serving.

Christmas malva pudding

In South Africa, everybody has ‘the best recipe’ for malva pudding – like chocolate cake, or milk tart, it’s one of those recipes that we all have and ours is always better than any other.

Well, mine really is better than yours, because it has the addition of cherries, nuts and Amarula – all the things we love about Christmas. I love the tradition of Christmas food but it comes with a lot of European customs and recipes that we as South Africans don’t really identify with. This recipe is my way of still keeping a little tradition, but adding a lot of South African flavour to it!

Christmas malva pudding

Serves 6-8

For the Malva:

½ cup castor sugar

1 egg

1 ½ tbsp apricot jam

1 cup self-raising flour, sifted

Pinch of salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 cup of milk

½ cup cherries chopped

100g pecan nuts, chopped

1/2 cup fruit cake mix soaked in 1/4 cup brandy overnight

zest of 1 orange

For the sauce:

¼ cup Stork Bake margarine

1 cup castor sugar

½ cup boiling water

1/2 cup evaporated milk

½ cup Amarula

Pinch of salt

Beat together the sugar, eggs and jam until creamy. Sift together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. Stir in the cherries, pecans, fruit cake mix and orange zest. Pour the batter into a greased baking dish or individual cups and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until dark golden brown and risen. You know that the puddings are ready when a skewer is inserted in the middle and it comes out clean. Make the sauce by placing all the ingredients into a pot and bringing to the boil. Pour the sauce onto the cooked puddings as soon as they come out the oven and serve with Amarula custard or ice cream.